Sam's Adventure
by thewizardanthedragon
Summary: AU - Sam and Luc are fictional children of Abby and McGee - Sam goes on a bit of an adventure and leaves everyone wondering where he is - Language
1. Chapter 1

As the boys grew Kayla only came when Abby and Tim knew they would be very late as Luc was more than able to keep a look out for Sam and make sure they both ate something resembling a supper. Luc had learned many years ago that Sam was incapable of interacting reasonably right after school. He needed time to decompress and process the day alone before he could tell stories or answer any questions.

So the boys had a routine. Luc would pick Sam up from school, they would walk or drive home in silence and each boy would head off to their own room until Luc decided to start preparing some food. Luc didn't check on his younger brother as Sam saw that as mistrust and interfering with his own agenda. And instead when food was about to be ready he would call to Sam to come and set the table and help with the serving.

However on this particular day Sam had had more than his usual amount of difficulties with school and his classmates. And his habitual afternoon calming wasn't working. This was probably due to the fact that things had gotten out of hand to the point that even Sam recognized that he may have gone too far. Inevitably a phone call would be made home and Sam would have to explain a bunch of things he felt incapable of explaining. Nor did he want to deal with the consequences of his actions, he was only 8 and who could blame him for that.

So Sam sat at the kitchen table carefully writing out his note. He took great pains to make sure each symbol, letter and number was precise and legible. Having completed his scribing he hopped of his chair, grabbed his hoodie just in case it got cooler as the afternoon wore on, and took off for the park.

Now Sam was big for his age so no one questioned him walking the streets of suburban DC alone and he navigated his way through side streets and main thoroughfares with ease. He had a destination in mind and paid little attention to anything but his goal. He was headed to the park, but not the neighbourhood park, he wanted the big one near the shopping center that had the large spider web climbing apparatus. It took him the better part of an hour to reach the park and when there he was basically alone as supper time was approaching.

While Sam was walking, Luc entered the kitchen and searched through the fridge and cupboards looking for something to throw together. He didn't feel much like cooking so found some chicken he could throw on the grill and enough veggies to make a decent salad. Easy and he knew Sam would eat it. Having lit the barbq he returned to the kitchen to begin cutting up the salad. This is when he decided that it had been long enough and Sam could come and help to speed up the process. Calling his younger brother's name several times he eventually stormed up the stairs to get Sam's attention. When there was no answer at the door, Luc was not worried. Instead he opened it slowly and gazed around the room, it was empty, but again Luc was not alarmed. Sam was known for hiding in small spaces and so Luc began to search the room for Sam's usual shelters.

Luc's heart did beat a little faster when Sam was not in his room. Luc began calling Sam's name in earnest and traveling from room to room. He threatened Sam several times with consequences if he didn't come out right away. While in his parent's bedroom Luc saw smoke rising up into the trees outside and swearing he rushed out to the grill where the chicken was burning. Lowering the heat and flipping the meat, Luc took a few seconds to catch his breath and think. Sam had been home, he brought him here he must still be here. As Luc entered the kitchen from the yard his eye caught the paper and pencil sitting on the otherwise empty table.

Luc approached the table cautiously, as if he thought the paper may burst into flames at any moment. The teen could see the writing before he reached the table, "Jesus Christ Sam" he swore, knowing no one was around to hear him. He picked up the beautifully written, what he had to assume was note, and tried to determine what it meant.


	2. Chapter 2

Luc looked at the symbols and truncated letter like writing and could tell from the format it was letter. However nothing was distinguishable. "Shit Sam… I'm going to kill you when I find you… never mind what mom and dad are going to say". Now Luc had a decision to make, should he go looking for Sam and hope he found him before anyone realized he had gone AWOL, or should he try and decipher the note to get the exact location his brother may be. Luc thought through both options aloud. "If I go looking I could be wondering around until midnight, if I take the time to figure out his code I could still be here when mom and dad get home." "Sam why or why do you do this to me? I swear I'm going to shake you until some sense takes hold".

Luc didn't want to get anyone else involved if he didn't have to, knowing that the note would be not be considered appropriate notification of location, and Sam hadn't asked permission to leave. Luc walked out the front door in search of his brother, note in hand. In the end he decided he would try and work out the code while walking from location to location he thought Sam would be hanging out.

The older sibling criss-crossed the neighbourhood, stopping at a few classmates houses along the way to ask if they had heard from his brother. After an hour of searching he had been up and down every street in their neighbourhood, spoken to a dozen or so people and still come up empty. Dusk was settling in and Luc had come to the conclusion that he had no alternative but to call in reinforcements.

He trudged back home, feet heavy with fatigue and worry. As he turned the corner onto their street he saw flashing lights and many vehicles in front of his house. Panic rose in his chest as he hurried towards the front door. Through the haze of alarm he noticed his mother's car in amongst the fire engines. It wasn't until he opened the front door and smelt smoke that he realized what all the commotion was about. In his haste to find Sam he'd left the chicken grilling. Abby rushed to hug her eldest as he quickly jabbered out an apology and held his mother tight.

The fire fighters quickly retreated as the small blaze was contained to the grill itself and a few leaves on the shrub next to it. As the click of the front door echoed through the house Luc flew into an explanation "Mom… I am so sorry, so so sorry, I didn't mean to leave the grill, I didn't I just totally forgot about it when I saw Sam's note and I just left immediately to go find him and then I couldn't and I didn't even think once about the meat, I am so sorry, so sorry… Mom I really didn't mean to do it … I didn't and I didn't mean to cause you to worry or anything and I just forgot that's all." His rant was easily understood by Abby as she herself was known for long winded rampages.

Abby took a deep breath as she had determined that she could only partially calm down due to the fact that only one of her children was standing in front of her. "We will deal with that all later, where's Sam?" she asked pointedly.

"Ahh.. Well that is a good question!" Luc answered screwing up his face in consternation.

"Good question? Good question? I want a good answer!" Abby flared.

"Well, he left a note and I've figured out part of it" Luc offered.

"Figured out? Part of it?" Abby questioned as she reached for the out held piece of now crumpled paper.

"Oh for heaven's sake child" Abby huffed. Abby decided it was time to call in reinforcements as dusk was slowly fading to pitch black. She called Tim and Tony at work, Jimmy and Gibbs are their respective homes. The more people they had looking the more likely they were to find Sam quickly. Everyone agreed that the police need not be called yet as Sam was likely exactly where the note said he'd be. They just needed to figure that out.

Abby and Luc stayed at home in case Sam returned. They sat down and began the decoding process in hopes of getting more information as to where to search. Tony and Tim headed out and through the next neighbourhood, figuring Luc would have done a good search and Sam had likely gone farther afield on his adventure. Each starting at one end and meeting in the middle.

Jimmy was going from store to store that Sam was likely to frequent. Jimmy took his phone and asked anyone who would look at Sam's picture if they had seen him. Not discouraged by the incessant negative responses he continued along main streets and little lanes looking for comic book stores, convenient stores and any shop that sold books. He avoided the big malls as Sam didn't like them and was not likely to go in one.

Gibbs got out a map and started searching from one park to another. He started closest to the Scuito-McGee household and moved outward. First going towards the school and then turning around when he thought there was no chance Sam would be farther and searched in the other direction.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam was completely oblivious to the panic rising throughout the search party. It had been dark for some time now and his main concern was that he was famished. But he had said in his note to Luc to come and get him when it was time for supper, so he waited.

Luc while walking had deciphered that each symbol represented a letter, however each of those letters in turn represented a second letter that would actually build the words. By the time Luc had gotten home he had changed the entire sequence into the first set of letters that needed to once again be decrypted.

Abby and Luc took longer to process the secondary cipher as they had chosen the wrong word to be "the" and therefore had made a bunch of gobbly gook and spent some time trying to decide if Sam would have triple encoded it.

The search party continued to traverse the city getting farther and farther from the Scuito-McGee household and trying to decide if they'd miss Sam or if he really had hiked this far from home. Each group checked in periodically with Abby to ensure the little trouble maker hadn't made his way back. Although Abby was happy that she was kept up to date on the progress it was breaking their concentration on the task they were dealing with.

Eventually Abby and Luc had something to work with.

Over the great mountain and through the small trail

I shall travel and travel even as slow as a snail

To the land of the dwarves to battle the spider

I shall climb and climb to the top of the spire

The spider and I will battle until we both tire

Hanging you will find me when it is time to imbibe

Don't worry I won't try and hide!

Sir Sam

"Wonderful" huffed Abby "we have a message but what in the world does it mean?"

"Well, he is staying there until I come and get him least" Luc smiles, trying to lighten the tension that has been escalating since his arrival home to a fire brigade.

"Over the great mountain" Abby repeats over and over trying to think about what her youngest was talking about, there were no mountains anywhere near them. And she truly hoped Sam hadn't gotten onto a bus or other form of transportation.

"Wait! I know" shouted Luc as he stood up quickly knocking his chair backwards. "The mountain is the big hill over where we used to go when it snowed enough to toboggan" its way over near the BerryMinster subdivision. I used to tell him he was as slow as a snail when we were walking there.

As Luc and Abby diligently and painstakingly went through the note, and the search party searched Sam hung upside down from the climber. He had to take a break every now and again because his head was feeling very funny having spent a good deal of time in this position.

Gibbs having been on park patrol was the first to locate the young boy. From his car he could see Sam hanging from his feet from the top of the climber. His arms clutching the sides of his shirt so that it didn't fall over his face. In the dark and shadows it looked as if he was walking on the ceiling of the spider web like structure. Gibbs parked his card and strode to the park bench nearest his grandson.

Sam seeing someone for the first time in hours quickly swung himself up and over the top bar and then carefully let himself drop into the sand below. He gathered his flip flops and headed towards the familiar figure now lounging on the bench.

Back at home Abby and Luc stewed. "Ok then the land of the dwarves? Any ideas?" Abby asked.

Luc just shook his head. Having at least some information Abby called and texted the search party and gave a general description of the neighbourhood they were likely to find Sam in. Due to the distance some of the people were it took some time for them to relocate as all of them moved slowly hoping to see Sam on his way home.

Luc read the message over and over again. Abby said the words aloud as she paced the living room leaving Luc at the kitchen table.

"Luc! Doesn't Sam call those fancy climbers spider webs?"

"Yes… Yes he does!" He's at a park hanging off of one of those spider web climbers waiting for me."

Smiles spread across their faces as they began calling everyone to give them even more information.

Gibbs' phone rang just as Sam sat and put on his shoes. "Whatcha got Abs? Ya I know" was Gibbs' only answer before flipping his phone shut and slipping it into his jacket pocket.

"Hey Gibbs where's Luc?" Sam asked completely unaware of the depth of the situation he was in.

"Luc?" Gibbs answered slightly puzzled.

"Ya. Luc!" Sam repeated.

Gibbs was a man of few words and as such was someone Sam did not understand most of the time. Nor did he understand everyone's explanation of Gibbs. Sam's ineptitude at distinguishing facial expressions meant that Gibbs' questioning looks were lost on him. It also meant that if Gibbs wanted an answer he had to ask it out loud.

"Why do you think Luc would be here?"

"Because I wrote him a note telling him to come and get me at supper time" Sam answered as if Gibbs should already know this.

"Sam y ou did no such thing" Gibbs confused expression ignored by the child.

"I did so! I left him a lovely note! I wrote it with great care!" Sam answered indignantly. "Besides, you knew where I was."

"No, Sam I didn't. I found you by looking at each and every park."

"Well at least you knew I was at a park you just had to figure out I wanted the one with the great big spider web, because they are the best to climb and hang from, don't you think?" Sam replied happily as he was so glad that his grandfather had figured out part of the note if not all of it.

"No, Sam, I didn't even see the note. Your mother called and has sent out many people in search of you because we didn't know where you were" Gibbs explained remaining calm and level.

"Well didn't they see my note? It was right there at my spot at the table! Luc must have seen it…. " the boy trailed off.

"Is Luc ok? Did something happen to Luc? Is that why you didn't see the note?" Sam's words gaining pitch with each question.

"Luc is just fine, although very worried about you" Gibbs explained.

"Oh good. Is it supper time yet? I'm really hungry" rubbing his belly for emphasis.

"Sam I think we need to talk a minute before we go home" Gibbs decided that maybe Sam needed to better understand the situation before returning to an irate family.

"OK. But I don't think as well when I'm hungry."

Knowing this was the case and being a bit peaked himself Gibbs texted Abby that he and Sam were going to pick up a sandwich at a coffee shop nearby to have a conversation before coming home. Abby had already relayed to the crew that Sam had been found and everyone had gone back to work or to their own homes. Abby stayed with Luc and together they called for pizza as neither was up to cooking.


	4. Speculation and Sandwiches

A/N - yes it has taken me way too long to update… RL has gotten in the way of my writing and is likely to until the end of June. When things should calm down and more writing can occur…. I am writing this from my sickbed as I am fighting off a case of pneumonia.

WARNING - there is the discussion of corporal punishment of a child. DON'T LIKE DON'T READ!

Gibbs gently guided his young grandson by the shoulder back to the car. Wanting to get some food into the boy before they talked he stayed silent as the child slid into the truck and buckled his seatbelt. Gibbs turned on the vehicle and slowly pulled out of the parking lot trying to remember the closest sandwich joint. He continued to monitor the young boy out of the corner of his eye. The kid looked tired but obviously still hadn't registered how much trouble he was in for this little escapade. Gibbs decided that maybe that was a good thing for now as a hungry and panicked Sam would be miserable to deal with.

Carefully pulling into a slightly small parking space, Gibbs reminds Sam to be careful as he exits not to let the door hit the next car. Sam rolls his eyes as he retorts "I'm not a baby I know how to get out of the truck." Gibbs flashes out of his signature glares, and it is completely lost on the 8 year old.

Sighing deeply Gibbs heads to the door of the shop and holds it open as Sam trails in. "Thanks Gibbs." Gibbs smiles and follows the boy to the counter. Each orders a sandwich and tells the teen behind the counter what they want on it. Gibbs pays as Sam carries the tray to a large booth at the back of the restaurant.

The older man slides in and begins to unwrap the food in front of him. He sits watching as Sam opens his wrapping and proceeds to take the sandwich apart, laying each of the toppings in a neat pile. Sam is unconscious of the fact he is being watched and scrutinized.

Gibbs is a patient man, and years of interrogations gave him the understanding of when the right time is to get a suspect to talk. When Sam has finished eating all the toppings and begins to pull the bun apart Gibbs finally opens his mouth to speak. And then hesitates as Sam looks into his eyes and smiles saying "Thanks for the sandwich I was starving."

"You're welcome" he begins "Sam why did you leave the house this afternoon?"

"I needed time to think" the boy replies without delay. His quick answer reinforcing to Gibbs that the kid has no idea the stress and worry he has caused or the rules he has broken. The older man nods in acknowledgment. "I see….. What did you need time to think about?" Sam starts to answer but quickly stops and puts more of the ripped up bun in his mouth. Gibbs continues to consume his meal slowly and quietly, watching and waiting. The young boy's cheeks flush slightly and Gibbs asks "Did something happen at school today that you needed to think about?"

Sam looks sideways at his surrogate grandfather, he tries hard to assess what the man is thinking and how to proceed. He had left because of something that had happened at school today, but he had no interest in sharing what had transpired. That being said he also needed someone on his side and although GG was not the most likely person to side with the boy he didn't have a lot of options open.

"Things didn't go well at school today and I needed to do some climbing to sort it all out in my head" Sam stated. The entire family did know that Sam always processed his emotions better after tough physical activity so what the boy made sense to the man.

"I'm sorry things didn't go well for you are school today…" the man paused thinking through exactly how he was going to play this. "... did you want to talk about it now that you did some climbing?"

"Nah, I'm ok" Sam answered not understanding that although he may have been posed as a question he really didn't have a choice about filling in the details.

"I think it would be best if you and I talked about it and figured it out before we go home" Gibbs explained. "You see, we have a couple of problems we need to solve." The boy looked puzzled but needn't verbalize his questions as Gibbs continued.

"Problems? What problems?" Sam inquired his face still scrunched up in confusion.

"Well… you see your need to think meant you left the house and people didn't know where y.." the man didn't get to finish before the young lad jumped in with "I already told you I left a note for Luc, Luc knew where I was." A slight panic rising in the kids tone as he did understand the 'don't go missing rule'. Gibbs sighed and then began "you see Sam the problem is you left an encrypted note, one that took time to decipher, so much time in fact that me just looking park to park found you faster" he stopped and let his words register.

"What took so long?" Sam asked. Trying not to be frustrated GG replied "when people are worried they don't think as quickly or as clearly and Luc was worried about you." "If you leave a note then you need it to be clear and precise. And really Sam, a note isn't good enough. After school you are supposed to stay with Luc or tell him directly where you are going and for how long. You know that it is important to never be unreachable, right?"

Sam nodded. "It isn't only a family rule right?" Gibbs continued "it is an agent rule as well. Everyone needs to know they can get a hold of you in case of an emergency."

"But there wasn't an emergency at home" Sam retorted "so it is all ok."

"There was an emergency at the house Sam. You weren't there to know about it. When Luc went looking for you he left the grill on by mistake and it caught fire. Luckily the neighbours saw it and called 911 and your mother."

Sam knit his brow in deep thought. "Is Luc ok? Did the house burn down?"

"Your brother and house are fine, but the point is when things were underway no one knew where you were and if you were safe" Gibbs explained staring straight at the boy in a way that anyone else who flinch away. Sam on the other hand had other things on his mind. "Did Abby paddle Luc?" he asked. Confused the man took a moment to answer "I don't know Sam and it is none of your or my business if she did, why do you ask anyway?" "'cause when I lit the grill on my own with matches Abby paddled me" the boy responded unemotionally. "I see" Gibbs nodded. "Sam …. I don't think you understand the trouble you are in at the moment." Gibbs gave up on the notion that the kid would come to the realization himself, and he felt it was only fair to make sure the kid was prepared for what he was going home to, as it wasn't likely Luc getting the paddling tonight.

"I do" Sam answered "that's why I had to think." Once again thrown for loop he was not used to being caught off guard Gibbs paused before answering. This kids mind raced and jumped from one thing to another and not in a usual predictable manner. "You do, do you?" he asked his expression just as questioning.

"Yep" Sam answered quickly and succinctly. "Do you know that leaving this evening only added to whatever trouble you were already in?" Gibbs probed. "That's not right" the boy replied "I had to go to think before Abby got home, I need to be given time to think. That is only right."

"True you do need time to think, and I'm sure if you had asked Luc if you could go to the local park for a while he would have said yes. But unfortunately you didn't ask, you didn't leave appropriate information as to your whereabouts" the older man held up his finger as the boy tried to interject "and you were gone far longer than was necessary to think."

"I did leave a note, I did!" the kids voice shrill and raised. "You left an encrypted note and a note is not sufficient in cases of emergency." Sam huffed loudly and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't agree with you" he stated flatly. "Well regrettably for you young man I, and your parents don't need you to agree with us.

Sipping his coffee, though it was absolutely terrible, Gibbs waited until Sam regained some composure as he knew that even in a public place Sam could throw some wild fits or yell loud enough for the next block to hear.

"Sam, why did you need that park?" giving the kid the benefit of having specific needs that were not alway apparent.

"It has the largest spider web" he stated as if Gibbs should already be aware.

"And that matters why?"

"Because when I have lots of thinking to do I like to hang upside down and the spider webs are the best place for that" again his tone suggested that his grandfather should already be aware of these facts.

If it had been Luc, Gibbs would have shut the attitude down, but given it was Sam who used sarcasm not to be rube but when he was stressed and unable to process all the emotions he was feeling, Gibbs let it slide.

"Why was so much thinking necessary?" Gibbs decided a new line of questioning was prudent. "I told you, 'cause things didn't go good at school today" Sam huffed.

"What didn't go good today at school? I can't help you if you don't fill me in" he tried to sound less frustrated than he was.

"Brayden didn't go good at school today" Sam said softly as he returned to picking at his bun and eating the small pieces. The boy purposefully didn't look at the adult studying him.

"Brayden a friend of yours?" he guessed.

"NO" Sam yelled. Gibbs face quickly turned cold and his voice took on that of his usual gunny in command tone "You watch your tone young man, you are already in deep, I would suggest you don't dig any further." Sam slouched back against the booth cushions and once again crossed his chest with his arms, his face in a snarl.

Taking a deep breath Gibbs softened his tone and tried again "Who is Brayden and why didn't things with him go well?"

"He is mean and nasty and cruel and stupid and and … and" he trailed off.

"Oh… he's a bit of a bully then?" Gibbs inquired.

"More than a bit!" Sam retorted sitting up straight and looking at Gibbs with fire in his eyes.

"Ok so this bully, Brayden… what did he do?" they were finally getting somewhere even though Gibbs wasn't sure it was anywhere productive.

"He called Matty names and pushed him" Sam explained, sarcasm creeping back into his voice.

"I see… that wasn't very kind was it" Gibbs tried to sympathize with the 8 year old who was obviously feeling frustrated.

"No, it wasn't"

"How does this mean you need time to think on the spider web? Forgive me but I am not making the connection. Did you need time to figure out what to do? How to handle Brayden? What to say to Matty?" Gibbs gave many options hoping he may land on the correct one.

"No" was the only answer the boy offered and Gibbs was just as confused.

"No … what?" he tried to prompt.

"No I didn't need time to do those things… I needed time to think about what to tell Abby" the boy finally replied after several minutes and more bun was consumed.

"You needed to tell Abby what happened?" Gibbs asked still a little confused as Sam was generally a kid of action and not one to do a lot of premeditation or consultation.

"Ya, I needed to know what to tell her" Sam answered less annoyed that he thought Gibbs was finally understanding.

"So you needed time to figure out the situation and decide how to get help?" Gibbs clarified.

"NO" Sam yelled again throwing himself against the booth back.

All of a sudden it words not spoken by the young boy were clear to Gibbs. "You went after Brayden didn't you?" disappointment unhidden in his question.

"Maybe" Sam offered in a quiet voice.

"Ah, I see, you were trying to figure out how to state your case with Abby."

"Maybe" Sam again answered.

"Sam, look at me kid" the kid looked sideways at the man across the table and Gibbs knew this was the best he could hope for "I understand you were feeling worried and stressed about your talk with your mother." The boy turned every so slightly to his grandfather with a quizzical look. "Believe it or not, I was in your shoes on more than one occasion" he smiled hoping to relax the kid just a little. "But the one thing I do know from experience is running away from it, only makes things worse."

"I didn't run away, I left a note" his statement a growl more than words.

"I can promise you this, your mother is not going to see it your way, she is going to believe you left to evade your impending discussion and probably chastisement" Gibbs explained matter of factly.

"Well you need to tell her I was just thinking, I told Luc where I was, I told him when to come get me…. That isn't avoiding it!" the boys exclaimed exasperatedly.

Gibbs sat thinking for a few moments. And the kid was right. If the note really did say where he was, when he would be back, then he was really going to think and not to avoid the impending discipline. Gibbs would make sure that Abby understood that before he left the boy with his mother. Even though running away was not on his list of charges Gibbs was sure Abby wasn't going to let the note slide or the school yard fight.

"Sam, I will make sure your mother understands your escapade was not an attempt to flee punishment."

Sam smiled. The with his more characteristic mischievous tone he asked "Can you also tell her that I was defending Matty and that is a good thing and so I don't need any punishment." Flashing a grin Gibbs would have thought was something a relation of Tony would do rather than McGee.

"You can tell her that yourself as I know she will want to listen to your side of the story as she always does; however you can bet your last nickel that Abby will not see fighting as an answer to the problem."

Dejected the kid slumped in his seat, then brightened moments later "You can tell her that Principal Conroy already talked to me about the right way to protect my friend and he already did the punishment."

"Once again you can tell her that yourself, and as you probably already guessed, that too isn't going to fly. You know darn well that when you get into trouble at school your mom and dad make sure you understand that they stand behind the school rules." Gibbs explained, but he felt for the kid, as he'd said, he'd been in the kid's shoes on more than one occasion himself.

"Com' on let's get you home. Your mother is probably beside herself with worry as she needs to see you in one piece to know it's true" Gibbs finally ventured.

"I'm not finished my sandwich" Sam whined. Looking at the mess of ripped up bread that was not at all appetizing Gibbs was sure the kid was just stalling.

The man tidied up the mess throwing all their garbage in the bin, turning to the boy still motionless in the booth he crooked his finger and beckoned. Even Sam knew what that meant and not to push his luck so he slid out of the seat and followed GG to the truck.


	5. Discussion and Discipline

WARNING - corporal punishment of a child - DON'T LIKE DON'T READ

Gibbs parked his truck in the driveway and slowly turned the key. He sat watching Sam for a few moments. The kid hadn't said a word since they left the sandwich shop and he was picking at the hem of his hoodie he now wore. Gibbs smiled inwardly, Sam may not have been his blood relative but he was very much like the kid was he was younger. Hot headed and quick to throw a punch. And like Sam it had landed him in hot water. Reaching over and tousling the kids hair he said "Let's go, sitting here isn't going to make it any easier." "GG" Sam started quietly then stopped. "What is it kid?" his response soft and caring. "GG… can you stay until I'm done telling Abby what happened?" Gibbs smiled inwardly. No one else in his 'family' would ask him to be the one to vouch for them. Most of them were generally explaining themselves to him. He liked being on this side of things for once. "Sure Sam, I'll stay.

But you're doing the talking" Gibbs explained.

"Really?" the boy asked in desperation.

"Yes, really. But I'll be there to help." Both unbuckled their seat belts, open their doors and slid to the ground. Gibbs had to circle the truck and close the passenger door and gently guide the boy towards the house by the shoulder as he had stopped once out of the vehicle. At the door Gibbs entered without knocking and kept his hand on Sam's shoulder as the kid seemed as though he may bolt.

Abby rushed to the foyer and hugged a stiff backed boy before holding him by the shoulders and looking him over. It took several moments for her to be satisfied that he was in fact in one piece and had simply been playing at the park as Gibbs had told her via text. Luc stood in the kitchen watching the whole scene unfold. He was relieved that his brother was home unharmed and he could now breathe freely. His mother had told him over and over again that she didn't blame him for 'losing' Sam; and that it was Sam's actions she was unhappy about, but he had a hard time believing it until he saw Sam home safe.

Luc nodded to GG and then silently made his way quickly up the stairs and into his room as he had no interest in participating in the discussion that was about to start. Gibbs motioned with his head towards the kitchen and with his hand still on the boy's shoulder he maneuvered the child onto his chair at the table. Sam sat down and began picking at the hem of his hoodie once again. Gibbs to his word sat on Sam's side of the table as Abby slowly lowered herself into the chair opposite her youngest son.

"Sam" she began deliberately slowly as she knew unlike Luc he didn't follow her tirades well "I'm glad you are home safe." She decided to begin positively, and Gibbs nodded his approval. The boy didn't react but both adults knew he was listening.

"Sam what do you want to talk about first? School or running away?" Abby asked still trying very hard to stay calm. Gibbs winced before the kid even opened his mouth, as he knew what was coming.

"I didn't run away. I left a note. I said when I would be back and and where I was. That is not running away" Sam yelled and accentuated every word in the last sentence with a fist bang on the table. Gibbs raised his hand before either of them could talk. He had promised the kid help with this one point and it looked like Sam was in need of the help for sure. "Abby, please listen, Sam and I have had a long talk about this issue. He understands that you do not take a note as appropriate notification of where he is going and when he will be back" before Gibbs could continue Sam tried to interject. Again Gibbs raised his hand and the boy fell silent.

"Remember Sam we talked about this" Gibbs spoke firmly but softly.

"Humfph" was all that the boy said. "However, Sam had no intention of running away from his problems. He was making a mature decision" again he had to raise his hand but this time to Abby "it was the wrong way to go about it, but it was made so that he had time alone and with needed physical activity to decide how to approach the impending discussion he knew he had to have with you and how he was going to explain himself and the situation."

This time it was Abby who let out a "humfph". Gibbs glare had her quickly changing her tune as she readdressed her son. "Sam, is what GG says true?" He nodded in the affirmative. Gibbs leaned over and whispered in his ear "If you respond verbally people believe you more." Sam eyed him wearily before answering "yes it's true".

"Do you want to explain that to me then?" Abby asked.

"Not really" he started before Gibb's hand squeezing his knee had him quickly explaining his thought process of going to the park and leaving the note. "Ok, then we can move onto the school yard fight" she said with disdain in her voice. Sam quickly looked at Gibbs he hated talking about these things as much as the older man did. He hoped his allie would step into help once again. But instead Gibbs motioned with his hand for the kid to continue.

"Brayden was making fun of Matty and pushed him down" Sam started right away as that was what he had come to think the best line would be when he was at the park hanging upside down. Show Abby that he may have done wrong but it was totally for the right reasons. "And so you decided that punching him in the face would solve that problem" Abby retorted sarcastically. "Well I don't think he'll do that to Matty ever again" Sam said unadvisedly.

At this point even Gibbs hand held up between them didn't stop the tirade of admonishments from Abby. He decided that if it had been his kid, he wouldn't have accepted that answer either and gave up trying to quiet the angry mother. Abby finally ended with "So do you understand why fighting is not the answer and that you had so many other choices to solve the problem?" Sam looked to Gibbs for assistance, he didn't know what he was supposed to say. Most of what Abby had said had gone by so fast that he couldn't distinguish separate words let alone a meaning of all of them put together.

"Well?" said Gibbs "do you understand?"

"I guess" Sam answered not wanting to lie but not wanting to hear all that noise again. Gibbs explained to Abby that he too had, had a conversation with young Sam and that Sam understood his decisions were not appropriate and that he was to choose other methods to solve his problems next time. With that the table grew silent as they all stared at one another. The discussion had been rather quick really considering all that had happened. But the pre conversation with Gibbs over sandwiches had helped solidify the boy's understanding. Once Gibbs was sure no more discussion was to be had, he pushed his chair back and stood. Sam's eye jumped to him, asking him without words to stay. Tousling the kid's hair again he said "I told you I'd stay and help you explain. I've done that. Now it's between you and your mother."

Gibbs leaned down and kissed the messed up hair as he rounded the table and pulled Abby into a hug. Before letting go he whispered "Don't be too hard on him. He did the wrong thing for the right reasons. He didn't just pick a fight." Abby kissed the older man's cheek and smiled as he made his way to the front door. When the latch clicked Abby said

"Let's go. Up to my room" and waved her hand in that direction.

"Your room?"

"Yes. My room?" Abby headed in the direction of the stairs and expected her younger son to follow. It took every ounce of his willpower to stand and climb the stairs. He knew the moment the punch landed he would be right where he was. That didn't make it any easier. Walking into his parents bedroom made him feel uneasy. It had never happened like this before. He didn't like when things were new, or different.

He stood at the end of their large king sized bed watching has his mother rifled through his father's closet. She was about to ask the child if he'd removed what she was looking for earlier in the day but stopped when the handle peeked out from behind a pile of old sweaters. She made a mental note to tell Tim he needed to go through and organize his closet, way too many clothes he no longer wore.

Turning to face her miscreant son she held the paddle in her right hand and asked even though she of course already knew the answer

"How old are you?" Wrinkling his brow in confusion Sam answered "eight." Unsure as to why the woman who gave birth to him had to verify that. "So eight it is then" she announced as if this were the usual way things were done.

"Eight it is then… what?" Sam asked still confused.

"Eight strokes it is then" she clarified" as he really did seem to not understand.

"Whoa … no way… Abby listen…. You always ask how many Principal Conroy gave me and you match that" he tried to explain to her as she obviously had lost her mind.

"You're correct, that is what I have been doing; however last time I think I explained to you that should you get yourself paddled at school once more for fighting I would make sure that the punishment at home was far more memorable as I am tired of getting the calls from school about fighting and you know that there are other options."

"But… but…" the boy started, but couldn't finish as he was lead by the arm to the end of the bed and helped to bend over so he was laying with his torso on the bed and his bottom hanging just at the edge and his feet on the ground. This new position, along with the much more severe number of swats coming had the young boy in knots. He tried to say something but nothing seemed to come to him to get him out of this situation.

Abby stepped up to the edge of the bed and let the paddle fall onto the upturned backside. Knowing she was going to delivery 8 she was careful to not swing very hard. The idea was to scare him silly, not injure him. He would be leaving the room with a stinging tail she was sure of that, more than in the past even. But not as bad as she was sure his little mind was thinking it would be.

The next six swats were even and measured. They were delivered with care and precision but more than enough force to drive home the point. As was her usual routine the last stroke was a little harder then the rest to make sure the sting lasted a little longer. While Sam cried into the duvet, Abby replaced the paddle on the shelf of her husband's closet and then returned to her son. Lifting him up carefully she stood him in front of her as she sat on the end of the bed. "Sam, I mean this will all my heart and soul, I never want to have to do that again, so please, please think before you act. Because even though I hate this, I will do it again if I have to."

Sam was his usual stiff backed self when she tried to hug and comfort him. Unlike his brother he needed alone time to digest his situation and not cuddles and reaffirming hugs. Abby watched as her little boy left the room, walked down the hall and entered his own room. She heard the door shut with a little more enthusiasm than was absolutely necessary but she let that slide.

Abby walked down the hall and knocked on her eldest's door. Luc invited her in as he was sitting at his desk studying.

"Hey Luc can we talk for a second?"

"Sure Mom" he responded quickly turned in the swivel chair to face her, as she was now seated on the side of his bed. "Luc I know that you left the house in a panic looking for your brother. I totally understand that. And I understand that remembering the grill is not likely even for adult when you are strung out." Abby watched her son's face. He had been nervous all night and apologizing every two minutes until Gibbs and Sam had arrived.

Abby was sure Luc would never again have reason to forget the grill or cause a fire as he did tonight. They were unusual circumstances to say the least. Abby however sensed that Luc was feeling guilty and needed to talk about it. "I am sorry Mom, I really am. It really was that I was worried about Sam and where he'd gotten to" Luc answered.

"And I'm not angry at you for him leaving. That is on him… he is old enough now to know the rules and not need you to watch him every second…" Abby looked at her son again. He seemed to relax even more. She could tell he still had inklings of guilt hiding behind his eyes. His shoulders a little too straight his hand clenching and unclenching. Come here she said motioning for him to approach her. He stood and walked the two steps to be standing beside his now standing mom. She gently took his upper right arm in her left hand and turned him slightly to the side. She saw his eyes shut tight knowing what to expect next. With her right hand she administered 3 light taps to his jean clad backside. Not even a slight sting would be felt. "Now" she said "Stop feeling guilty." She kissed his forehead and gave him one last hug before saying "finish your homework and get some sleep."  
Luc sat back down with a smile on his face and no trace of guilt left in his body.


	6. Brothers

Luc sat for only a few minutes before he quietly opened his door and peered out. He was looking for his mother. She had always told him to leave his little brother alone after he'd been punished for some transgression as there was no need to go and wind him up anymore. However Luc was generally worried about the little guy and had always, against his parent's wishes, gone to check on Sam after he'd been punished.

Luc knew that his parents were just and measured when handing out corporal punishment, so it wasn't like he was worried Sam was actually injured and needed care. But he always went across the hall to give his brotherly support and commiserate.

Knocking quietly he entered without waiting for an answer, this too was usual. Sam would say he didn't want anyone there. He would tell Luc to go away. Yet, when Luc sat at his desk chair and looked him over from a distance he would stop all his protestations.

"Hey there" Luc called as he entered and very quietly closed Sam's door. "Go away" came Sam's usual answer. It never had any force or actual meaning to it, just like this time.

Luc looked him over, he actually looked not to worse for wear, considering he had overheard his mother's threat last time and also the fact she had followed through with it this time.

"Got yourself into a heap of trouble again, didn't ya?" Luc said sympathetically and not at all geering.

"Humfph" Sam responded throwing himself anew onto his pillow face down.

"You're lucky you know" Luc said trying to get Sam attention.

"Lucky… you call me lucky" Sam answered his voice rising. Luc quickly came over to beside him on the bed and gestured with his hand for his brother to keep it down, or one of the parental units might find him in here and put an end to their discussion.

"Yep… You're luck… you know why?" Luc knew Sam's curiosity would get the better of him if he just waited.

"Why?" the younger boy finally asked turning to face his brother. Now laying on his side.

Knowing he had him hooked Luc continued "When I was a bit younger than you are now… I took off…. And I" emphasizing the I "didn't leave a note…. And you know what else I did?"

"Nah… whatchha do Luc?" Sam completely enthralled in the story.

"I kidnapped you" he said almost shouting the word you as he pointed at Sam's chest.

Sam seemed to remember some stories at family gatherings about such a story being true.

Luc continued. "And the next day was horrible. I had to wait a whole night before I was punished." Luc embellished his tale as much as he could. He was doing to make his younger brother feel better about his situation. And he had learned from Uncle Tony how to tell a good tale.

"Did you get a lickin' Luc?" Sam asked. ""Course I did" Luc replied. "Worst lickin' of my life. And you know what else?" The older boy asked knowing he had Sam hook line and sinker as the younger boy's face was wide eyed with awe and he was sitting up properly leaning into the older boy to continue.

"After mom gave me the worst lickin' of my life I had to go down to the kitchen and write an apology letter to every single person who was out looking for me."

"Every single one?" Sam asked "How many were there?"

"Well there were the police, and firefighters, and paramedics, neighbourhood people and then all the family from Mom and Dad's work and of course GG." Luc answered drawing out the list to make it as long as possible. Not that 8 year Sam didn't think it was an amazing list anyway.

"The police and firefighters?" Sam asked in awe.

"Yep! You don't have the record on major screw ups little bro… I do" Luc said pointing to himself. "I was gone so long and you were so little that they called in everyone to help look for us".

"Why did you kidnap me?" Sam said realizing he was the victim in all this.

"I wanted to show you to my class for show and tell" Luc answered before continuing "then after I wrote all the letters I had to go hand deliver them and apologize in person" Luc knew this point would be just as devastating to Sam as it had been for him. Sam hated apologizing and having to do it all day.

Sam was astonished. He knew Luc got into trouble now and again. But in comparison it was much less frequent and he was likely to get off with a much easier punishment.

"At the end of the day I had just GG to apologize to" Sam's eyes widened, he'd been on the receiving end of enough of GG's reprimands to know this wasn't going to be good. "Yep" Luc nodded letting Sam's imagination run wild. "And GG gave me a lickin' too!" Luc finished, not really adding any details. "And do you know what he said to me?"

Sam shook his head no. "He told me if I ever went missing again, or didn't tell someone where I was he would give me a licking to make Uncle Tony's stories seem like fairytales!"

Sam's mouth dropped open. He had forgotten all about his own chastisement and was engulfed in Luc's story. He didn't have time to feel sorry for himself.

Luc continued to give details about his most horrible day, and Sam sat and listened.

Downstairs Tim arrived home, hung his coat in the closet, deposited his gear in the home office and then returned to the kitchen. He stood behind his wife who was making the boys' lunches for the next day and wrapped his arms around her kissing her ear. "Hey Abs, whatcha got?" he asked.

Rolling her eyes she turned to return the hug and snuggle into her husband's chest. "Where are the boys?" Tim inquired, as the house was more quiet then he had anticipated after the stories of the day.

"Luc's in with Sam telling him exaggerated stories" she smiled. "They still don't know, we know, Luc goes in there to make sure we haven't killed him for real, do they?" Tim laughed.

"Nope and we are leaving that just the way it is!" Abby answered with a kiss.


End file.
